Stimulus Package Will Only Stem Japanese economies Slide

TOKYO (NQN)--Japan's additional stimulus package will do nothing more than prevent the economy from deteriorating further, Masamitsu Sakurai, chairman of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives, said on Tuesday.

Sakurai noted that the government is considering lowering its GDP growth outlook for fiscal 2009 to about minus 3%, adding, "(It) has no choice but to place its estimate at somewhere between 2.5% and (just under 4%)."

The chairman said that future prospects are difficult to predict, but that "turning the tide will be tough unless the nation addresses its heavy dependence on foreign demand."

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- The Japanese government recently approved a tax exemption for dividends paid by overseas units of Japanese firms and some analysts expect it to be a boon for major firms as well as provide support to the nation's currency.
Under the new legislation, which was implemented Wednesday, dividends received from overseas affiliates of Japanese corporations will be exempted from Japanese corporate tax.
"The introduction of Japanese HIA could prove [yen] positive towards the end of Q2," said Tohru Sasaki, chief foreign-exchange strategist at J.P. Morgan Chase in Tokyo, wrote in a recent note to clients.

The principles of Japanese HIA are the same as those of the U.S. Homeland Investment Act in 2005, which "gave tax breaks for U.S. companies in the form of reduced taxation on their repatriated foreign earnings," he said.
Sasaki points out that as a result of the U.S. HIA, the U.S. dollar saw a significant boost.

Sasaki said he expects around 3 trillion to 4 trillion yen ($30.4 billion to $40.6 billion) to be repatriated in "relatively limited duration and this could have a meaningful impact" on the yen.